Today, more than ever, people are interested in monitoring and tracking their food intake and, in particular, trying to ensure that their dietary habits are in line with various general health recommendations. In addition, millions of people have one or more conditions, illnesses, or diseases, which require them to closely scrutinize and monitor all food they consume and minimize their intake of certain elements and types of food.
However, one of the more difficult challenges facing anyone trying to monitor and control their food and nutrient intake is the challenge of a trying to eat in a healthy, and/or prescribed, manner when eating outside the home, i.e., when dining/eating out. Given that many people are regularly forced to eat outside the home due to time constraints, travel, convenience, and social needs, the challenge of trying to eat “right” while dining out is very real and often encountered on an almost daily basis.
Recently, restaurants, fast food establishments, and other providers of food items, have begun printing the nutritional information associated with their menu, or other food offerings, on the menu, or food product itself, and/or on handouts or displays provided at the food offering facilities. However, for the average person, deciphering and then keeping track of this printed/visual nutritional information is often extremely time-consuming and difficult. This is particularly true when, as noted above, many people utilize restaurants and fast food establishments on a frequent basis so that a running or cumulative tracking of the printed/visual nutritional information, often from multiple establishments/sources, is required in order to obtain a realistic indication of how healthy the person is actually eating.
The situation is problematic enough for relatively “healthy people” who can often choose to ignore their food intake on occasion, or even for extended periods of time. However, for millions of people having various health conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, allergies, heart disease, etc., ignoring their food intake, even occasionally, is not an option and, in some cases, can be quite dangerous.
Despite the desire, and in many cases the very real need, for people to relatively closely monitor their food intake, and even though many establishments/food providers do provide printed/visual nutritional information for their food offerings, there is currently no simple and efficient way for a consumer to accurately, and in relative real time, obtain data indicating the nutritional information associated with food offerings and then determine, based on the nutritional information, if the food offerings are in line with the consumers desired, and/or mandated/prescribed, nutritional requirements and/or limitations.
What is needed is a method and system that allows users to capture printed and/or visual nutritional information associated with food offerings/items and then automatically compare that nutritional information with the nutritional and/or dietary requirements and/or limitations of the particular user.